thunderbolt external ssd

[dennisfcampbell]

will be in india to buy my new i mac 21.5...they dont have flash drive available so ill have to use an external hard drive to boot from and use internals for storage.... my problem is im not sure what i need to for thunderbolt enclousure and connecting cables ......i want to use the
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-7TE250BW) will this work and can some one recommend a set up that be simple to use this will the largest project ive done since switching to apple......thanks

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Yes, that SSD will work in an external enclosure. Depending on your needs, 250GB may not be large enough as a startup disk, especially if you are going to edit audio/video. You can buy enclosures from several sources - OWC, NewEgg, Amazon, etc. You can also buy external desktop and portable drives that have Thunderbolt connectivity right out of the box from companies like LaCie, G-Technology, OWC, WD, etc.

You will notice a speed increase starting up from an external Thunderbolt SSD drive, but the current iMacs are very fast as is. You could also order a custom-built iMac with SSD before you go. You can then buy an external drive to use as a Time Machine or other backup for your data, which is highly recommended.

-Which applications will you be installing/using?
-What types of projects are you going to be doing?
-How much storage space do you think you will need?

C

 

[dennisfcampbell]

c,
i tend to keep the mac lean and do time machine back ups so there isnt a lot of clutter......the most used will be photoshop 6 and audio books and music....... nothing that will require a large amount of space ......im running a snow lep. macb pro 17 with a 120 gb ssd now i wouldnt think the newest osx would be more than 70 gbs its just time to rejoin the 21st century there are so many applications that dont run on this 10.6.8.......i would love to be able to get my i mac here and take it over but indian customs duties are 60 % thats why the work around for external drive otherwise an internal flash drive would be ideal, but retired and on fixed income i have to look at the most inexpensive method possible......thanks for your input

 

[Cory Cooper]

Understood...thanks for the additional information.

That Samsung SSD or any of the externals I mentioned should work just fine for you then. Have you looked around at any of those websites to see what they offer?

C

 

[dennisfcampbell]

C,
looked at the sites you suggested thanks for the direction i found a transend 256 ssd thunderbolt with cable for189 and ill get a 1t hhd usb 3 for time machine back up.........dont care about the speed on backups ......

 

[Cory Cooper]

Sounds good...let us know how it goes.

C